- Leicester City had to dig in to record a brilliant 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday, says defender Jonny Evans
- The Foxes advanced to the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup courtesy of the triumph
- Evans lauded City for their aggressive performance at King Power Stadium
- Kelechi Iheanacho scored a brace, while Youri Tielemans was also on target
The Foxes booked their spot in the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in 39 years as Kelechi Iheanacho scored twice and Youri Tielemans found the net in a convincing triumph over Evans’ former side.
City were nothing short of exceptional in the tie, constantly denying the Red Devils the space they needed to operate in, and Evans was thrilled with his team-mates’ application at King Power Stadium.
“Against a good team, we had to dig in at times, especially towards the end, but I think we felt comfortable throughout the match and we took all our goals really well,” Evans told LCFC TV.
“We wanted to press them at times. I think sometimes when you're playing with five at the back and two strikers, it can be very difficult to press, but it took a real energetic performance and at times we really had to work to win the ball back.
“I thought we did that great at times and you can see even from the goal we put them under pressure and managed to nick a goal early on from it.”
In an attempt to level matters after Tielemans’ brilliant solo strike, the visitors made a quadruple substitution, bringing on Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay.
However, Evans says Leicester were not fazed by their introductions, and just moments later were able to extend their advantage through Iheanacho’s second goal of the game.
“I think when a team wants to throw that many men forward, it always leaves them open on the break, and I think possibly we could have had another goal or two on the counter-attack today,” he said.
“We worked so hard throughout the game. It's very difficult once the legs get tired and the mind gets tired. It's hard to sort of find those passes, but we had one or two chances where it felt like we could have gone on to maybe score another.”
The Foxes will face Southampton in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium next month, and Evans knows it will be a proud moment for his side.
“It'll be a great occasion,” he said. “I think just to get there and play at Wembley representing Leicester will be a fantastic occasion. Hopefully we can come out on top.
“It'll be a tough game on the day, we've played Southampton, and we're still got to play them away in the league, but we played them here.
“I think we managed to beat them at home, but it was a tough night and it's a big occasion at Wembley, and sometimes it's all about handling your nerve and hopefully we can be calm and put in the performance like we have done most of the season.”